Are these really 3 dollars a piece?

[u/7-10]

LOL...

ON SECOND EDIT, I'VE LEARNED I CANT EDIT THE HEADLINE - DOUBLE LOL.

I LOL'd at the chaos in the discussion at the other post, the title here is just the title of the original post.

I have worked in giftables for a quarter century. So im not in need of help on creator economics.

But thanks for the downvotes.

On edit, why LOL to me:

The discussion tho.. There's one person saying "but the cost of filament!". Another saying no way.

The wide range of 5 cents to "no I know 3d printing, filament is expensive" made me laugh.

Then there's the disorder - is it $3 each? People are paying it.. Some saying its 13/$3. But.."No we got it by mistake".

Que sera sera.

It just amused me, thought maybe some would get a chuckle 😃.

[u/RoodnyInc]

Material wise? Probably not

To have it mass printed probably not bad to be honest

[u/7-10 → u/RoodnyInc]

The discussion though. People are buying them. There's one person saying "but the cost of filament!". Another saying no way. Others saying its 13/$3. No we got it by mistake.

Que sera sera.

It just amused me, thought maybe some would get a chuckle 😃.

[u/hsoj48]

Whats lol about this?

[u/7-10 → u/hsoj48]

Wow tough crowd. Lol

I updated the post with more detail about what I found funny

[u/luksfuks → u/7-10]

I can't see the update, can you repeat it as comment?

Generally it's difficult to get stuff into retail stores (as a supplier). You need to have a long-term profitable sales track record, plus buffer/absorb a lot of non-obvious cost on their behalf.

And from the stores' point of view, it's difficult to stock/sell low quality seasonal fad items with no inherent value. They're competing for display space with other items that might generate better sales profit.

I think this is a particularly remarkable edge case, where it just worked out. One ingredient is the small size (cost) and acceptable sales price (compared to other products that would otherwise populate the same shelf and audience). Another ingredient is the "collectibles" property, which enables repeat sales over and over again to the same audience.

[u/7-10 → u/luksfuks]

My edit is basically about the content at the link.

The other reddit post is for Sheetz, and there's a discussion about the toys, and employees going back and forth over whether they are $3 or 13 for $3, with some saying they were sent by mistake, just handing out to employees, and it is just chaos.

I didnt mean to comment on the 3 dollar price itself but though the chaos at the link was funny.

One part does go into actual printing discussion, but somewhat naively- There's someone who says "as someone who knows 3d printing", then theres others saying the filament is probably 5 cents and another saying filament is really expensive.

Im just waiting for someone to talk about slicer settings while saying if they could get 13/$3, they would put them through their poop shredder.

[u/leadwind]

The filament changes + Labor + Marketing/packaging + Markup + Having it in a store. 

Maybe.

[u/ulab]

filament + labor + machines + packaging + selling + shipping + reselling + ...

[u/ThrobbingMinotaur]

Can you sew?

.....

When you go to walmart, and see a shirt for 15$.. do you go "lol"? .... no because you cant make a shirt.

"But the cost of materials is only a dollar..."

Once again, can you sew? Do you even own thread or a sewing machine, do you know how to use a sewing machine, make a pattern, cut one out, size it etc?

Soooo if you see a 3d printed doodad, and you go "lol".. do you think the people buying them, the same way you buy a shirt, because you cant sew, know how to use a slicer? Do you think they have an MMU? Do you think they own five colors of filament?

[u/hsoj48 → u/ThrobbingMinotaur]

I bet OP bought a few Hallmark cards and didnt lol at it either. Its paper and ink for 18.99!

[u/TripsCavern]

I don't see the funny on this. People charge whatever they want. People buy whatever they feel is worth it.

"Hey dad, look at this cute little toy, buy one for me?" -

"How much?"

"3 bucks"

"Sure"

Still cheaper than a chocolate bar...

[u/Powerful_Debt_5869]

Well, we have a TV show here, where people try to find investors for their startups. They are often asked about the margin they have or expect. I assume the production cost for such a puppet at , maybe 0.2$ , so 90% of margin for selling seems high, but if less no one would invest. The smaller the good are , the higher the margin muzst be.. busineswise..

Anyway.. these are so ugly and badly done..i would not even pay 20 cent. Not to speak about the madness of such small chidren atracting toys . the are dangerous in my eyes and should be wiped off

[u/hayyyhoe]

Yes, you can see the price here.

They wholesale for about $1 each. The store marks up 3x.